To understand the current situation in Iraq — the evolving and complex conflicts there, and the fear and resilience of its Christians — one has to understand its past, which is often ignored or unknown in the West, said a former papal representative to the country.

When Pope Francis first stepped onto the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Mark Shriver like millions of other people around the world was captivated by this man who humbly bowed his head after asking the people there to pray for him, before he would offer his first blessing to them.

Father Richard John Neuhaus was many things, among them “a theologian, an intellectual, an activist, an ecumenist, a writer,” said the author of a new biography of the late priest who hopes his book will be the definitive volume on his life.